It's a boy! This is a view from below. Pretend you set baby on a glass table and you are peeking from underneath him. You can see his fanny, his two legs stretched out in front of him, and his manhood.
side profile pic in 3D - our little guy is such a snuggle bunny already - he has his hands up by his face and his legs scrunched up to his belly :)
On November 3, 2010 at 8:00am we found out that we are having a boy!
The night before I had had a dream that the ultrasound technician had told us it was a boy. So when I woke up the morning of November 3, I told Brian that we were going to have a boy. He still didn't believe it. In fact, no one thought boy. I had my 2nd grade students "place bets" on whether they thought it was a boy or girl (most of them thought girl). I took some online quizzes to predict the gender (I was asked questions about morning sickness, fetal heart rate, how I was carrying, etc) and I got a 67% girl response. Most of my family members and friends guessed a girl. I am thinking that the reasoning behind their guesses was that I am SO girly, they thought "we can't picture Ellen with a boy." My oh my, everyone was wrong.
Brian and I arrived early to our appointment and waited anxiously in the waiting room. When we got called back to the ultrasound room, I lay back on the table as Brian found a comfy seat next to me right in front of the big screen tv mounted on the wall. The ultrasound technician was so sweet and you better believe I quizzed her on her credentials and asked her how long she had been working as an ultrasound technician. I wanted to make sure she knew what she was talking about before she revealed to us the big news! She spent a few minutes pointing out the baby's spine, fingers and toes to us. Then she announced, all too casually, "It's a boy." Brian and I were holding hands and we turned and looked at each other. We were in shock. Even though I knew that it was bound to be a boy, he still had thoughts of a girl. The only word I can use to explain how we felt was shock. We would have been shocked if she had said "girl" too, it's just the idea of actually knowing the sex. It's very overwhelming and exciting and shocking.
About halfway through our appointment, she asked me if I needed to pee. I had been told by numerous friends to make sure to arrive hydrated, and apparently I hydrated a bit too much. My bladder was 2x the size of the baby. I made a quick trip to the restroom and when I came back we could see a much clearer picture of our baby boy. She continued to roll all over my belly and point out different body parts, let us listen to the heartbeat, and even showed us our little boy in 4D. It was all very surreal and wonderful!
Brian and I left the doctor's office with a 30 minute DVD of our "session" as well as 8 wonderful photos of our SON (I love saying that!). We went out to the car and chatted for a few moments about what had just happened and how excited we were to FINALLY know the sex! Of course, we texted everyone we knew and immediately posted on facebook and twitter. We were thrilled to share the news!
The worst part of it all, was that we both had to go straight to work right after our appointment. Looking back, we wish we had made our ultrasound appointment for late afternoon so we could've gone home together and chatted longer. By the time I got to school, my students were on pins and needles. I waited to announce to them til afternoon (I told them they had to learn about patience haha) and they SQUEALED AND CHEERED with excitement when I said it was a boy. That made me feel so good inside!
Needless to say, when Brian and I got home from work that night, we stayed up and talked for hours - what would he look like, what sports will he play, nursery decor, name choices, etc. It cracks me up the way people respond throughout the pregnancy. The first questions are, "Were you even trying to get pregnant?" and "How are you feeling?" to "Do you think it's a boy or girl?" and "You look like you're carrying a boy/girl" to now "What will you name him?" To answer the last question - we have narrowed it down to a list of 10 possible choices. I am not sure that we are going to tell everyone once we have decided anyway. Based on the responses I've gotten when I've merely mentioned a name choice at school, teachers respond with "UGH I had a child with that name last year and he was so annoying." So we will probably only tell close friends and family once we've made a choice. For the rest of the world, you will just have to wait until mid-April to know the name of our precious baby boy! :)